Zimbabwe rubbishes claims of a crisis

Former South African Minister of Safety and Security Sydney Mufamadi, former Speaker of Parliament Baleka Mbete and former South African Minister of Public Service and Administration Advocate Ngoako Ramatlhodi were dispatched to Harare by Ramaphosa early this week to President Emmerson Mnangagwa on a fact finding mission.

“These envoys were sent by His Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa to his counterpart, His Excellency, President ED Mnangagwa. This was at the peer to peer level of brotherly Heads of State of two sister nations that enjoy excellent diplomatic bilateral relations. The envoys brought in their message which was duly delivered to the host President. In return they received a briefing from President ED Mnangagwa.

“The reciprocal messages are the property of the respective leaders and it is their prerogative as to how they can be handled or disseminated,” she said.

Mutsvangwa said several other misinformed narratives against the government were also being pushed.

These, she said, included accusations that the government was targeting and arbitrarily arresting opposition activists and ill-treating them.

“Our Justice system is blind to political persuasion, rank, creed, race, social and political networks. Therefore, all prisoners in a certain category are treated in the same manner,” she said.

“Taking into account the Covid-19 context, prisoners have a constitutional right to be protected from public health risks such as the Coronavirus, this may include bringing in measures such as stopping or limiting the number of visitors and external items prisoners can have access to. This is what explains the current control measures being implemented in our all prisons.”

On the false narrative that the government was reversing the gains of the war of liberation by paying compensation to former white farmers, she said the money was being paid in fulfillment of section 295 (1) of the Constitution.

The government agreed to pay the former white farmers $3.5 billion dollars in compensation for improvements made on the land they lost under Zimbabwe’s agrarian reforms.

“I want to debunk any assertions that there is a reversal of the land reform programme. This mischief is purveyed by the loony and extreme right wing circles,” she said.

“Let it be also noted that the signing of the Global Compensation Agreement on the 27th of July 2020, was a fulfillment of the aspirations of the Zimbabwean people as expressed in the referendum of 16 March 2013. In that instance nearly 95 percent of the population endorsed the new Constitution with the quoted provisions therein.”

She added; “ZANU-PF is a revolutionary party that fought a non-racial and just struggle for majority rule. It has not time to indulge in gratuitous racial baiting. Rather it wants all its citizens inclusive of former white commercial farmers to enjoy complete, equal and inclusive rights and freedoms.”

Mutsvangwa called on other countries to respect Zimbabwe’s sovereignty.

“Zimbabwe is a peace loving country which does not interfere in the affairs of other sovereign states and their interactions with their citizens. It therefore desires to be accorded the same courtesy. His Excellency, the President directed our security forces enforcing the lockdown regulations to do so with a ‘humane face’. Where mistakes or excesses are alleged there is a complaint mechanism in place and we urge aggrieved citizens to utilize it,” she said.- New Ziana

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